A ceasefire in Ukraine would lead to a 'frozen conflict,' says Ursula von der Leyen. The European Commission president suggested creating a group of "like-minded states" to provide security guarantees to Ukraine during a keynote speech.

Brussels

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ceasefire in Ukraine 'not enough'; says EU

Bringing the Western Balkans on board seems to be one of the more urgent goals of the European Union. During a keynote speech at the Globsec 2023 forum in Bratislava, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a four-point growth plan for the region. The aim, to bring some of the benefits of EU membership to these countries that are still undergoing the long process of joining the bloc. We finally realize that it is not enough to just wait for our friends outside the Union to move closer to us. It is not enough to say that the door is open. We must also take responsibility to bring the aspiring members of our Union much closer to us. The shockwaves sent by Putin's war of aggression have also reached the six Western Balkan countries. But this has only brought us closer together. Indeed, Russia's invasion of Ukraine seems to mark a turning point in the EU's strategy towards the region, which was previously focused on maintaining the status quo. That's according to Judy Dempsey, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. The European Union's strategy towards the Western Balkans has been absolutely miserable. It has been inconsistent. It has been double standards. It has kept the Western Balkan countries in a waiting room since 2004 at the big EU summit in Salonika in Greece. That's when there was a big optimistic push to integrate the Western Balkans into the EU. Since then, there's been an indifference and exhaustion, division by the member states, not quite sure what to do with them. This new awareness inside the EU mentioned by von der Leyen could be a game changer for the Western Balkans. The common regional market is crucial to a certain extent. This is a new approach to the European Union. We do not only ask our partners to take new steps towards us. We also take a big step towards them. Our shared goal is to speed up their journey towards the European Union. According to the plan, the six Western Balkan countries could join the EU's digital single market in areas like e-commerce and cyber security, as well as facilitating trade in goods and payments. It's still not clear, though, if this would be enough to satisfy Western Balkan countries and calm the tensions that are currently erupting.

Thousands have lined the streets of Sydney's CBD to honour veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the annual Anzac Day march.

Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands of veterans take part in ANZAC Day marches

President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that provides billions of dollars of new U.S. aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. The legislation also includes $26 billion for Israel, as well as $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Biden also signed a separate bill tied to the aid package that bans TikTok in the U.S. if its owner fails to divest the video app.

Washington

Israel-Gaza War

Biden signs Ukraine, Israel aid, TikTok ban package

A North Korean delegation led by a cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, according to state media. The rare public visit signals increased cooperation between the two countries, which are believed to have secret military ties.

Pyongyang

North Korea delegation visits Iran in rare public trip

The German government plans to resume cooperation with the United Nations agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza. The announcement comes after a new report concluded that Israel had not provided enough evidence to back up its claims that hundreds of UNRWA staff are military operatives in so-called terrorist groups in Gaza.

Berlin

Germany to resume funding UNRWA Palestinian agency

The United States Justice Department has agreed to pay almost $139 million to victims of sex abuser Larry Nassar, for its bungled investigation into the former USA Gymnastics team doctor. For nearly two decades, Nassar subjected hundreds of people to abuse under the guise of performing medical treatment.

Justice Dept. to pay $139 million to USA Gymnastics abuse victims

The United Nations called for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. Credible investigators must have access to the sites, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Sderot

U.N. calls for investigation into Gaza mass graves

A bishop whose stabbing was live streamed while delivering a church service wants his video to remain online, supporting X founder Elon Musk's stance. The technology company is currently in a legal fight with Australia’s e-Safety commissioner over the graphic video.

Stabbed Sydney bishop supports Musk stance

Seven juveniles have been arrested and a further five are being interviewed by police, after a series of raids by counterterrorism police in the south-west Sydney suburb of Greenacre. The arrests follow the stabbing a bishop.

Wakeley

Teenagers arrested in ongoing Sydney anti-terror raids

The US Senate has passed a 95 Billion dollar aid package providing aid to Ukraine and Israel, humanitarian relief for Gaza, as well as 8 Billion dollars for security in Taiwan. Part of that package is a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.

U.S. Senate approves $95b aid package for Israel and Ukraine

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is heading to Shanghai and Beijing for three days of talks with senior Chinese officials as US-China ties are at a critical point. His visit also comes amid rising concern in Europe over Chinese espionage with several suspected spies detained in Germany and the UK.

Beijing

Blinken heads to China amid rising concern in Europe

After a tribal welcome to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent the night camping on the Kokoda Track in an Anzac Day trek aimed at drawing the two countries closer.

Kokoda

Prime Minister walking the Kokoda Track

Residents in New Delhi complained of breathing problems after a massive fire broke out at a Ghazipur landfill the day before. Large plumes of smoke continued to rise from the burning landfill in the city’s eastern district, where excavators were seen removing piles of garbage to deescalate the fire.

New Delhi

Landfill fire envelops New Delhi in smoke

Protests in support of Palestine continue at university campuses across the United States, despite a crackdown by police. Hundreds of students and teachers have been arrested over the past week.

New York

Protests rage at U.S. universities over Israel’s war on Gaza

An aide to a German far-right member of the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said, deepening concerns about foreign interference ahead of June's European elections.

Aide to far-right German MEP arrested for spying for China

Five people, including a child, have died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.

Wimereux

Migrants drown in Channel hours after U.K. passes Rwanda bill

Police arrested dozens of people at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan on Monday, as the war in Gaza continued to reverberate through U.S. university campuses.

Dozens arrested at U.S. universities as Gaza protests grow

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on April 22 threatened possible legal action against claims that it may have covered up the issue of Chinese swimmers testing positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, as global sports groups piled pressure on the regulator and demanded an investigation into the case.

Tokyo

Chinese Olympic swim team doping scandal heats up

Court documents have revealed Bruce Lehrmann refused an offer to settle with Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson before his failed defamation case had begun hearings.

Bruce Lehrmann refused settlement before court case

The lawyer representing a former NSW Police officer charged with murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies says his client's defence may involve mental health elements.

Man accused of murdering Sydney couple faces court

A western New South Wales man charged with murdering a young woman was on bail for several violent charges against the same victim.

Forbes

Man faces court over murder of young Forbes woman

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of parliament finally passed required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.

London

U.K. parliament passes Rwanda asylum law

New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model, while his defense lawyer said he committed no crime.

Jury hears opening statements at Trump hush money trial

Floods swamped parts of China's Guangdong province following record-breaking rains, sparking worries about the region's defenses against bigger deluges induced by extreme weather events.

Guangdong Province

China's Guangdong floods spark extreme weather fears

Israel has yet to provide evidence for its accusations that hundreds of staff with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are members of terrorist groups, according to a review of the agency's neutrality released.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

'No evidence' of UNRWA, Hamas links

Arj Barker has defended asking a mother to leave his show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The woman said she was humiliated after being asked to leave while breastfeeding her baby during Barker’s performance.

Melbourne

Comedian criticised for removing breastfeeding mother from show

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being accused of hate speech for comments he made about Muslims at an election rally, referring to the religious community as "infiltrators." Nearly a billion people are eligible to cast ballots during the six weeks of voting, which started Friday.

India's Modi accused of anti-Muslim hate speech amid election

The Philippines and the United States are holding joint naval exercises in a climate of tension between China and its neighbors. Despite international legal rulings, Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its own. That's contested by the Philippines and other Indian Ocean nations.

Manila

Filipino, U.S. troops set to begin joint combat exercise

More than one year after prosecutors pressed charges in Manhattan against former President Donald Trump, they are presenting their evidence to a jury. Opening statements have begun in the first-ever trial of a former president as Trump faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

Manhattan

Opening statements begin in Trump hush money trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would fight against sanctions being imposed on any Israeli military units for alleged rights violations, after media reports said the U.S. was planning such a step.

Jerusalem

Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions on army units

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has faced court for the first time in five months over the alleged mushroom poisonings of her relatives last year.

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Ukraine Invasion